1974 Westy's engine too hot.

[twinfalls]

Is that true:
1_Running with the engine compartment's door, wide open makes it hotter.
2_Missing the, over round engine foam seal, makes the engine hotter.
3_Turning the heating on makes the engine hotter.
Apart from well known engine over heating cases ( too much air for gaz mix, too much spark advance ) what you've seen as heat troubles ?

[vwcampin]

1 and 2 are definitely true, although I do not believe that #3 would cause the engine to run hotter......Basically the engine compartment needs all the tin in place and to have all the factory seals in place. Gaps in the tin/seals equals possible overheating....

[Randy in Maine]

1. yes
2. yes
3. no

Incorrect fuel air mixture, vacuum leaks, improper oil, improper compression in one or more cylinders, crud in the cylinder cooling fins, generally dirty engines or engines painted, improper timing, missing pieces of engine shrouding, improper fan/fan belt/alternator/generator system, obstuctions in the cooling shroud or oil cooler.

[twinfalls]

Thank's, iI appreciate your help.
More...What about the heather blower stuff.
I suspect, the blower and related hoses are a potential trouble about engine's overheating.
Should I check about these ( 1974 2000cc Transporter).

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

I don't think the blower, and heater hoses affect the operating temperature significantly. Unlike a water cooled engine, the heat system is extracting waste heat from the exhaust, which doesn't re-enter the engine. About the only effect would be that the heat extraction would cool the exhaust slightly, slowing it down a bit. I don't think the effect is significant as I said before. If you are worried about this, you can wrap the exhaust components to insulate them. Check out the heat ... I found it thread for a link to the bulley hewitt site that describes this. Jeremy

[ratwell]

The purpose of have a good seal on the engine compartment door is to keep the exhaust out of the engine compartment. The engine doesn't need to ingest the hot air it's own exhaust just produced. It's another reason why the tailpipe exists to the side of the vehicles instead of straight back like the beetle.

The engine compartment seal besides helping to keep the engine compartment cleaner and increase the lifespan of the air filter, serves the same purpose.

As for the aux. heating fan, when you turn it on it sucks quite a lot of air so I'd say it's helping to increase the volume of cool air entering the engine compartment through the side vents. Is it a noticeable difference? Probably not compared to the amount of air the engine fan is ingesting but it couldn't hurt.

The heater flaps themselves used to vent the air upwards but later they were changed to vent it towards the ground instead of towards the engine.

I suspect turning on the heat helps a little with cooling simply because you are conducting the heat away from the heat exchangers by passing cool air through them and into the cabin.
_________________
'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
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